QUESTION FROM Joan Frimmer

I have a swimming pool that has not been in use for several years. However, I continue to have chemical treatment every week, clean the pool, and maintain the water level. I run the pool filter six hours per day. I am wondering how I can cut the cost of maintaining the pool. Is it necessary to run the filter six hours daily and have weekly chemical treatments?

ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD

Dear Joan:

Regarding cutting the maintenance costs on your pool, this depends on quite a few factors, such as: what region of the country that you live in (temperature, humidity, length of summer season, water quality, etc.); how big your filter is compared with the size of your pool (a smaller filter will need to be run more hours); whether or not you have a pool cover; how fast bugs accumulate; etc. With this said, here are some general thoughts on how to reduce the operating costs of your swimming pool: o You only need to run your pool equipment long enough to keep the water clear and the chlorine at the proper levels.
Beyond this, more filter time and more chemicals is just a waste of money and effort. o One test you can try, is to reduce the time that your filter pump is running by an hour each day until the water stops staying clear. o Consider changing your pool water out when the TDS ppm (total dissolved solids parts per million ) reaches a reading of 3000 ppm or higher. When it gets to this level, your chemicals are much less effective, so you have to use more. o Consider upgrading your filter to a higher performance system, that doesn't need to run as long. o Check to be sure that you don't have a leak in your pool, which requires you to keep adding untreated make-up water. What you might want to do, is contact a local pool supply company, who is familiar with your local climate, and give them all the details on your particular pool and filter system, and see what they suggest.

Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com